Don't Let Go of Me
by CharlotteBlackwood
Summary: Part of my multi-gen, following Man's Greatest Treasure, before It's for You, also before oneshot Some Other Beginning's End. Riddle Era, the story of Olivia's mother, Aindora Rovigatti, from her third year of Hogwarts until her death. TR/OC, AB/OC, OC/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Firstly, I don't own anything but my own lovely OCs, the Rovigattis, Morecombs, Cromwells, etc. This is a little Pre-Series I'm doing for my BABY. This takes place before my oneshot **_**Some Other Beginnings End**_**, which leads into **_**The Marauder's Beginnings**_**, and on from there. Warning, this is an involved series! I've got plans for it to go all the way to Harry's grandchildren, and now I've extended it back in time to Olivia's parents, making this span five generations, starting at Hogwarts in the 1930s and ending at Hogwarts in the 2040s or maybe 2050s, I'd have to check my timeline. Yes, this is more than 100 years of material. As expected, that means there will be LOTS of stories, LOTS of chapters. I will try to make them able to be read independent of each other, but it never hurts to start at the beginning and read all the way through. This story will start in Olivia's mother's third year and I think I'll make it a long one, probably until she marries Olivia's father. You can figure out what happens from there. You'll get to see Tom Riddle as a schoolboy, as well as a bit of Abraxas Malfoy, Alphard Black, maybe even Sirius's parents. Peter and Walburga's extreme distaste for each other will be explained and I might even include the contents of my mysterious prophecy, once I figure out what I want it to say! Stay tuned, and lots of love! Cheers! – J**

The year was 1939. Aindora Rogivatti was off for her third year of Hogwarts. She knew, by now, what to expect. Alphard Black, the Slytherin in her year, would pester her all through Herbology. Peter Cromwell, the Gryffindor fifth year would stare at her from his table in the Great Hall. Walburga, Alphard's older sister, would try to befriend Aindora all over again. Her best friends in Ravenclaw, Linda Werner, Vidya Vespa, and Aludra Walker, and their good friend in Hufflepuff, Orsolya Sutherland, would spend their time together studying and being generally silly. But there were two things this year that would make Hogwarts very, very different.

Firstly, as a third year student, Aindora would be taking classes of her choice for the first time. She and her friends had sat down and decided to take all of their classes together, even Orsolya, who whined quite a bit about Arithmancy. To balance it out, they agreed to take her choice, Divination. Aindora's father had laughed when she told him this, saying that she would likely like Divination more than she anticipated.

The other thing that made Aindora particularly excited for school this fall was that her baby sister, Eoladra, would be starting school. Everything with Eoladra was a production of epic proportions, but Aindora had enjoyed the sisterly Diagon Alley trip just the same. Now they were heading to the Hogwarts Express in King's Cross Station, September having dawned that morning. Their father walked through first with Eoladra, disappearing into the brick wall. Aindora walked swiftly at the barrier after them, alone.

Their mother had died when Aindora and Eoladra were very young, killed by a man who was convinced that she had been divinely ordained to be his wife. According to their father, their mother had suspected she would die young, but he never explained the statement. The late Mrs. Rovigatti had been a beautiful woman, resembling her daughters greatly. Eoladra's eyes were more of a blue-green, resembling their father's eyes, but Aindora was the exact picture of her mother at age thirteen.

Aindora led the way to the scarlet steam engine waiting for them on platform nine and three quarters. It was a beautiful train, certainly, but it had become such a familiar sight that Aindora didn't think of this as she climbed onto it and found her friends in a compartment near the middle, Linda, Vidya, Aludra, and Orsolya already passing around magazines and talking about their fabulous summers. The equally familiar sight brought a fond smile to Aindora's face as she sat down beside Aludra, glancing over her best friend's shoulder at the magazine across her lap.

"How was your summer, dear?" said Aludra, flicking Aindora on the nose. "Still practicing poor manners, I see."

Aindora laughed.

"It was lovely, dear. South of France. And now Elle is coming to Hogwarts! It's going to be great."

"Oh, that's right!" sighed Orsolya. "How is she doing? Do you have a guess what House she'll be in?"

"Likely Ravenclaw," said Aindora. "We're nearly all in Ravenclaw, you know, on my mother's side."

"And a good thing, too," said Aludra with a bright smile, "or who would I have to talk with late at night when I haven't finished my work?"

Then the door slid open and in walked none other than Gryffindor Peter Cromwell, one of those rich pureblood boys from a good family with all the right connections and all the right skills. Orsolya barely bit back a sigh, and even Aindora had admitted that he was handsome, but never to his face. Egos as large as his ought not to be stroked.

"They made you a prefect, Cromwell?" she said with a derisive tone. "Who did you have to bribe for that?"

He simply smiled and pushed out his chest where his badge was, shining with a gloating air on his robes.

"Nobody, Rovigatti," he drawled in a self-satisfied tone. "They chose me off my merits, of which I have many. Would you like to know what they are?"

"Well I can tell you what they aren't," snorted Aludra.

"How about you just leave us alone for once, Peter, please?" Aindora said with a giggle, hoping he would actually do as she asked for once so they didn't have to embarrass the poor boy. But Peter Cromwell never learned.

"Aw, Aindora," he sighed, "I know you really want me to stay. Why don't you just say so and stop messing with my poor heart?"

Her eyes darkened and her face grew serious and she snapped, "Out, Cromwell. Now."

To her surprise, he left, looking a bit like a kicked dog as he backed out of their compartment and slid the door closed.

"Wow," muttered Orsolya. "That's new."

"What is?" Aindora asked, causally, checking in fingernails.

"I think he's in love with you," Vidya said with a small sigh. "You get all the good-looking ones, Dora."

"But I don't _want_ all the good-looking ones," Aindora protested. "Truly, you can have them. I just want to be left alone. I mean, for Merlin's sake, I'm just a child. Hasn't he got girls his own age who are impressed with him enough to follow him around like sick puppy dogs?"

The other girls exchanged knowing looks, except for Aludra, who despised Peter Cromwell more than anyone else they knew. It wasn't anything he'd done, exactly, but more the fact that he wouldn't leave them alone. He was only marginally more annoying than – ah, speak of the devil…

"Alphard," Orsolya said with a little giggle as the ungodly attractive Slytherin slid into their compartment, closing the door swiftly behind him.

"Ladies," he said smoothly, squeezing into the seat beside Aindora. "How are you, Baby Bird?"

That was what he had called her since their first year at Hogwarts, because she was in Ravenclaw, which had the symbol of an eagle. Somehow, Alphard managed to make that regal bird seem so much less majestic when he made such silly nicknames. Aindora had tried refusing to respond to it, hoping he would give it up, but it turned out that Alphard Black was the most stubborn person on the face of the planet, except perhaps Peter Cromwell. Eventually, she had to give in and start responding to it, or he would have driven her insane.

"What do you want, Alphard?" Aindora said, still examining her nails, not bothering to look up at him.

"I need a place to hide out for a bit," he said, slightly sheepishly.

"Who did you shag and leave this time?" Aludra asked with a smirk.

"Nobody, I hope," Alphard said with a shudder. "I'm hiding from my sister."

A collective shudder then went through the compartment. Nobody at Hogwarts was more universally hated and feared than Walburga Black, tyrant of Slytherin House. Some said she was insane. Some said she was just vicious, but all agreed that getting on her bad side was far from a descent idea.

"What did you do?" Orsolya said, eyes wide.

"Well, Puff," he said, winking at her roguishly, "I sneezed."

Aindora and Aludra both smacked him.

"All right, all right," he laughed. "No, I believe the words I said were used to say she was an ugly hag…"

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'Stop being such an ugly hag.'"

Even Aindora and Aludra had to laugh at that. He stayed with them the rest of the way to Hogwarts, telling jokes, flirting inappropriately, and buying them all obscene amounts of sweets when the trolley came around.

"Sorting!" he cried, hoping up when the train came to a stop. "Isn't your little sister being Sorted tonight, Baby Bird?"

Aindora clicked her tongue angrily at the nickname, but nodded.

"Yeah, I'm guessing she'll be Ravenclaw," she said. "Most of my mum's family has been."

"She'd better not be in Slytherin," Aludra said softly, "or Gryffindor. Imagine if Cromwell or Black latched onto her."

Eoladra was a lot like Aindora in many ways, and they were the best of friends, but Eoladra basked in attention. The surest way to get her to do something was to make her feel like the center of the universe if she did it. If a boy like Cromwell or Black showed her the least bit of attention, it would be like the creation of a monster.

"I heard that," Alphard said with a click of his tongue. "Why can't you just be nice to me, Aludra?"

"Perhaps because you're you, Black," Aludra replied coolly.

"And you say that like it's a bad thing," he said jovially. "Could you at least refrain from comparing me to Cromwell? It's a painful comparison. I would like to think he doesn't merit such a compliment."

Aindora and Aludra rolled their eyes, but Orsolya tittered her agreement, fluttering her eyelashes. What was it about Alphard Black that made perfectly intelligent girls act like complete idiots?

"Toss me a chocolate frog, eh, Baby Bird?"

Turning up her nose regally, Aindora said, "If you insist on calling me that ridiculous name, Black, you can get up and get it yourself."

He pouted pathetically and said, "Baby, please–"

"That didn't help your case," she snapped harshly. "If you're so capable compared to Cromwell, then man up and prove it."

Alphard smirked proudly and said, "Certainly. Now or later?"

She groaned. How could he have such assurance that one day she was going to be interested in him in any way? Why were he and Cromwell both so sure of themselves? Aindora knew, of course, that part of the problem was the fact that their parents had effectively raised them under the assumptions that as the male heirs to their vast family fortunes, and attractive ones at that, they would have whatever they wanted in life, and it was their birthright. The problem was, both boys assumed that Aindora was their birthright, which led to some awkward confrontations. As if she would ever be interested in either of them.

"I meant get your own chocolate, Black. Excuse me, I'm going to get some air. His ego is flooding out all of the oxygen in the compartment."

Aindora primly got to her feet, walking purposefully down the corridor. With any luck, Aludra would be yelling at Alphard and he wouldn't have the opportunity to try to follow her and "apologize". His apologies always turned into him attempting to steal a kiss.

What she didn't notice was that she had wandered unknowingly into Slytherin territory, something which a Slytherin seventh year boy who glowered down at her reminded her of harshly by blasting her backward down the corridor.

Aindora could hear her skull make a sick crunching sound as she hit the wall of the corridor, and she saw a blurry figure stand over her.

"Rovigatti?" said a voice she knew was Peter Cromwell. "Damn it, who did this? I'll rip you limb from limb!"

"Ow," was all she could manage, and she could feel a pair of strong arms wrap around her, but she was too disoriented to care.

"Go get Slughorn," the voice of Peter Cromwell snapped. "She's fractured her skull and I don't have the skill to fix this."

"Hurts," she moaned, and one of the hands smoothed some hair out of her face.

"I know, Rovigatti. It's going to be okay, all right? Do you remember who did this to you?"

"No," she moaned. "No. Hurts."

"Out of the way, out of the way! Peter, m'boy! What happened here? Oh, goodness, you were quite right, that's a nasty crack. All right, out of the way, Peter."

"Sir, are you sure you don't want me to… to hold her head in place or something? I feel a bit pointless…"

"All right, all right, now Aindora, this might tickle just a bit. Hold her very still, Peter. Very still…. That's it."

Aindora could feel a strange, tickling sensation and Professor Slughorn ordered Peter to hold her head tighter as she tried to squirm away from his wand. She whimpered slightly, but the pain was subsiding, she realized, and that was a good thing.

"Now, you'll have to clean up the blood, of course, but–"

"Thank you sir," Peter said quickly. "I can manage her from here. I'm sure you have things much more important to take care of than simple matters such as this." Professor Slughorn chuckled and went off on his way. "Rovigatti, how are you feeling?"

"Better," she muttered, barely realizing that he was petting her hair still, nor that she was leaning into his touch. "I think I ought to see Madam Pomfrey when I get back, though. I don't trust Slughorn as a Healer much."

"Nor do I," Peter said with a laugh, "but he was the only option on the train. I didn't want to put your skull together wrong or something. Come on, I'm going to clean you up a bit, all right?"

"M'kay," she muttered, allowing him to work his wand and fingers through her hair, siphoning the blood away. To the sensitive skin of her scalp, it felt especially nice. She nearly shivered, wondering how it was that his fingers could feel so good….

No. Aindora was not going to be so easily seduced. She told herself firmly that Peter Cromwell was a selfish, egotistical, obnoxious cow and she wasn't going to be persuaded otherwise.

So why was he being so caring, selfless, and sweet to her? Because it was her? Would he have done the same for anyone else?

"Baby Bird, what happened?"

Aindora groaned. The last person she wanted to see was Alphard. Any Slytherin would have been bad, but Alphard and Peter… well, it was enough to drive anyone a bit mad.

"Nobody invited you, Black," Peter spat.

"Out of my way, Cromwell," Alphard snarled. "She needs capable hands to care for her, not your insensitive frying pans."

"Boys–"

"Well, perhaps you ought to tell your Slytherin cronies to hex her again," Peter taunted. "Slughorn already healed her. I'm afraid there are only menial tasks left, nothing worthy of your noble station."

"I'm warning you, Cromwell," Alphard hissed, drawing his wand. "Back away from my girl."

"Now, both of you–"

"I'm sure she'd sooner date a pig than you, Black."

"Speak for yourself, Cromwell. She's disgusted by you."

"_Shut up, the pair of you!_" she shrieked, causing her head to spin as she tried to sit up. Peter caught her, but she brushed him away, leaning against the wall. "Shut up, _please_."

Alphard kneeled beside her, looking genuinely concerned and Aindora felt a rush of affection for him.

No. No, absolutely not. There would be no rushes of affection for either of those two idiots. It absolutely wasn't going to happen.

"Black," she whimpered. He puffed up importantly and if she were only feeling better she would have smacked him hard across his pretty face. "Black, go and get me Aludra. Stop looking so important. I'm sending you because Cromwell's supporting my weight and I don't think it would be a good idea for him to let go of me."

Aindora couldn't see Peter's face, but she suspected that it was equally self-important. But in that moment, she could hardly bring herself to care. She wanted to cling to him and let him feel a bit self-important, if only the world would stop spinning.

Aludra hurried over, Alphard not far behind her and she muttered, "Well, never thought I'd see this sight. My best friend wrapped up in the arms of Peter Cromwell."

"Shut up," Aindora snapped. "The train is spinning and I need someone to take me back to my seat. And it's not going to be either of these two idiots, all right?"

"Yeah," Aludra said, ignoring the indignant sounds of the boys. "All right, up you get."

Aludra hoisted Aindora up in her arms, sticking her tongue out as she supported her back to their compartment.

"Well," Aludra said humorlessly, "I hope the next time you get annoyed with Alphard you'll let me hex him instead of storming off."

"Absolutely," Aindora moaned. "Just hurry up."

"And Cromwell? Can I hex Cromwell too?"

"Ye- Wait. You used Black's first name and Cromwell's surname. What is going through your head, Aludra?"

"What? Nothing. Nothing at all. I don't know what you're talking about."

Aindora groaned.

"Please tell me Black's not gotten to you too. I don't want to be the only holdout."

"Hardly," Aludra said sarcastically. "Still, it's ironic, isn't it, since you're the only girl in our group Black's got any real interest in?"

"Oh, so funny," Aindora hissed. "I can hardly breathe for laughing."

But they made it back to their compartment and allowed the girls to dote on Aindora as she recovered from her fall for the rest of the train ride.


	2. The Beginning

**A/N: I have no idea when I'll put this chapter up, as ALL of my notes are at home. PROBABLY summer. But I may have it up sooner. That might also mean that I'll mess something up. I ask that if this happens, you forgive me. I'll make a note of it later if that's the case. Cheers!**

**-J**

The girls got off at the Hogsmeade platform, walking through the rain toward the carriages that led up to the castle.

"Aindora!" said a small voice. "Aindora! What about me?"

It was Eoladra. She looked a bit afraid.

"Follow Ogg!" Aindora called. "You're taking the boats!"

Eoladra looked terrified, but she nodded, rushing toward the other first years as Aindora followed her friends over to the carriages without horses.

At least, that was what everybody else saw. Aindora had been able to see the thestrals her first year, as she had witnessed her mother's death. Eoladra wouldn't be able to see them, but Aindora decided that was for the better.

"I hate when it rains," Orsolya complained after they climbed into their carriage. "I feel like it's a bad omen for the school year."

"Darling, we're in Scotland," Aludra drawled condescendingly. "It's a miracle if it's _not_ raining the first of September."

The group laughed, lounging in the carriage. The silence that settled was not an awkward one, but rather a perfectly comfortable sort of silence that could only exist between the closest of friends, who knew each other's every secret.

"So," Aludra finally said as they approached the gates of Hogwarts, "how long do you think until the whole school thinks you're betrothed to Cromwell?"

"Probably already made it halfway round the school," Aindora sighed. "And Merlin knows half of them thought as much already. I just wish he'd leave me alone."

Aludra raised her eyebrows as if to question if that was really what Aindora wanted and Aindora hated when she did that. Of course it was what she wanted. She wasn't some husband-seeking trollop who just fell for the first decently attractive male with an inheritance and a long family line.

The girls got out when they reached the front steps and hurried up the stairs to get out of the rain. Not that it did them much good, however, as they were still soaked through by the time they made it inside the castle and walked at a calmer pace into the Great Hall. They said their farewells to Orsolya and headed for the Ravenclaw table quickly, managing to avoid both Blacks and Peter Cromwell, which was quite an accomplishment. If only they could have managed it on the train, Aindora thought to herself, sitting down beside her best friend anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first years. She'd never been so nervous for any Sorting, even her own, and as she looked up at the stormy ceiling, she began to wonder what she would do if her sister were to be sorted into Slytherin. After all, longstanding purebloods that they were, there had to be Slytherin blood in there somewhere.

The first years filed in after Professor Merrythought, who explained the Sorting briefly and set the hat down on the stool to sing once more. Aindora wasn't really listening. She was searching the line of new students for her sister. Eoladra was fidgeting. She would be near the end, that was certain. It was never a particularly comfortable place to be, for Sorting.

"Albert, Garrett!"

The room held its breath as a freckled red-head rushed up to the front, looking incredibly nervous.

The Sorting for this boy took very little time.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Aindora watched Peter Cromwell welcome the new boy proudly.

"Alderton, Calvin!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Aludra and Aindora clapped and cheered loudly with the rest of their House as the boy joined the blue and bronze.

"Antoine, Dominick!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The skinny, wispy boy was probably the first person Aindora could ever recall seeing who was visibly pleased to have been Sorted into Hufflepuff... Nay, relieved, even.

"Aubrey, Devon!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Devon Aubrey scurried over to sit next to Garrett Albert and they started to chat away like old friends. Perhaps they were, but it was more likely that they'd met on the train. A lot of lifelong friendships started that way, meeting on the first train ride to Hogwarts.

Aindora began to pick at my nails rather than listen. 'Rovigatti' was a long ways off, and she wasn't willing to sit through the whole thing actually paying attention. Even first years didn't do that. Still, she did catch a few names.

"Joubert, Leana!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Jugson, Assia!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Aindora looked at the dark-haired girl with mild interest. She certainly had the sharp-eyed, Slytherin look.

"Michaud, Victoire!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The girl had been standing by Eoladra in line, which probably meant that they had become friends on the train.

"Midgen, Alyssa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The other girl that had been standing with them hurried over to sit beside Victoire.

Aindora began tapping her fingers impatiently on the table. She didn't stop until she heard Professor Merrythought say, "Rovigatti, Eoladra!"

It was impossible not to notice the stiffness in the room. It was the sort of stiffness that filled the Great Hall when Aindora herself had been Sorted, and Alphard Black, and probably Peter Cromwell. Rich, famous purebloods always produced that stiffness.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Aindora joined the cheer sounding at her table, watching her sister sit between Alyssa and Victoire and smiling, barely listening as the Hat put "Rowle, Maia!" in Slytherin.

"Vaillant, Angele!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"All in the family, then," Aludra whispered to Aindora with a smirk.

"Vaisey, Ilona!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Aindora's eyes widened. The Vaiseys were an old Slytherin family. Their daughter being Sorted into Gryffindor was almost as disgraceful as if Alphard had been anywhere but Slytherin.

She was the last of the night, though, and during the feast Aindora didn't think about families or Houses or anything like that. She simply ate her food, talked to Aludra, and occasionally shot her sister a proud glance.

As she walked toward Ravenclaw Tower with her friends, Aindora couldn't help but think how good it was that her little sister, sweet little Elle, would be a Ravenclaw. The girl could have been a Slytherin, being as ambitious as she was, but she could be a bit... naive. It was easy to take her for a ride. The pureblooded bloodsuckers in Slytherin would have used and abused her far too easily had she been housed with them.

Aindora watched Peter Cromwell as he ushered first year Gryffindor's down the other way, counting them as they passed him in the direction he was gesturing.

"Dora," Aludra said, "c'mon, we've got to go this way. The building never changes _that_ much."

Aindora Rovigatti shook her head a bit, reminding herself that Peter Cromwell was an arrogant, no-good berk and she couldn't be bothered with the like of him. Even in her head, the words felt emptier than they'd been before, though. Maybe it was because he'd saved her life. Although Alphard would have done the same had he been there...

Those two were so confusing! One minute they were being absolute lovely to her, the next they were self-righteous, egotistical, and fighting over her to boot.

She followed Aludra to Ravenclaw Tower where a sixth year girl got the riddle and let in about a dozen waiting returning students. The girls were making their way across the common room when a voice said, "Hey, Rovigatti! I hear you and Cromwell are engaged! Congratulations!"

"Oh, piss off!" Aludra barked, yanking Aindora along after her up to their dormitory.

"Great," Aindora groaned. "Now everybody thinks we're betrothed."

Marriage contracts and betrothals weren't uncommon amongst pureblooded children, but for the most part they weren't announced until both parties were at least fifteen. Aindora knew her father wouldn't force her into a contract, anyway, but even if he had, she'd be safe from having to be public about it for at least another couple of years.

"Oh, relax, there are worse people to be rumored to be betrothed to," Aludra reasoned. "Like... Like... Grizzly!"

Aindora laughed. Grizzly Morecomb was a Hufflepuff in Peter's year. He was a bit rough looking, like he'd gotten in a few too many fights, and seemed a bit quiet and awkward. He was perfectly nice, of course, but wasn't much to look at. He was also intelligent, but really only cared about being the top at things, surprisingly ambitious for a Hufflepuff.

"You're right," Aindora said with a sigh. "That would be terrible. But who do you think would be worse, Alphard or Peter?"

Aludra snorted.

"That's like asking what's more painful, losing a leg or an arm. They're just a different sort of awful, Dora. Maybe Alphard will fall in love with Elle and leave you alone."

"Don't even say that!" Aindora groaned, throwing the nearest pillow at her friend. "I don't want any Slytherins even looking at her! She's far too easy to sweet-talk, and their forked tongues are all coated in honey."

"I didn't know you spent so much time thinking about the tongues of Slytherins," Aindora said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "I bet Alphard would be interested to know that."

Aindora threw another pillow, but their dormmates came upstairs to spoil their girl time and the five of them went to bed as soon as Aindora assured them all that she was not engaged to anyone, much less Peter Cromwell.

/-/

It was about October when it happened. Aindora hadn't meant to be so stupid, and the only excuse she had for herself was that Peter Cromwell had worn down her resistance with his kindness and insistence. His tenacity was a difficult thing to continually turn down.

The morning had been uncharacteristically nice, so Aindora decided to go for a walk on the grounds before breakfast. Peter Cromwell apparently had the same idea, and so she found him walking beside her not even all the way out to the lake.

"Good morning, Aindora," he said softly, smiling at her.

He had a beautiful smile, she thought, but she quickly pushed that thought out of her head. She shouldn't be thinking about his smile or lips or anything to do with him in that way.

"Good morning, Peter," she said as stiffly as she could manage. "Did you want something?"

"I just wanted to talk to you," he said with a small laugh. "Not about anything in particular, just to talk to you. Is that all right, princess?"

Aindora wrinkled her nose. Nobody had called her princess in years. She'd been a bit... self-obsessed in her first year, although she just felt she was being proper. Was she really behaving self-obsessed with Peter Cromwell? Was that truly what he thought of her actions toward him?

She stopped and he stopped with her and the just looked at each other, him smiling, her frowning slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, but he frowned then.

"Sorry for what?" he asked, tilting his head with confusion.

"Never mind," she muttered, looking down at the spongy grass. There were still drops of dew on many of the blades, showing very obviously the path she and Peter had taken from the castle where the dew had been disturbed. When Aindora looked up again to find Peter looking at her with an expression she didn't quite know the name of.

"I want to do something," he said slowly, almost nervously, "but I would never do it without your permission. I... I really want to, though."

Aindora blinked. He was asking her permission for once instead of just assuming he had a right to her no matter what she wanted? That was new.

"What?" she asked softly.

He took a step closer and she swallowed, not wanting to step back and seem intimidated by him. No doubt, he thought he could pull that off with nearly anyone else, what with that shiny prefect badge on his muscular chest...

Why was she thinking about his chest muscles?

"I want to kiss you," he said softly, "if that's okay with you."

She blinked. He wanted to kiss her? Well, she supposed that made some sort of sense, what with the way he was pursing her all the time, but for some reason that wasn't something that had ever come up before, with him or Alphard. Perhaps it was because she was in third year. Did that change anything? Or was it the fact that she'd started maturing sexually? Aludra had pointed out that Aindora had begun to 'fill out'... Peter would have noticed it too.

"What do you mean?" she asked stupidly.

"I mean," he said, reaching his fingertips out to touch her jaw tenderly, "I want to press my lips to yours, savor how it feels, maybe even how it tastes. And I want to remember it forever."

Why was her heart beating so quickly? Saying yes would surely give him ideas, but for some reason, she felt entirely too curious about what it would feel like, what it might taste like. Would it be something she would want to remember forever, like he was so sure it would be for him?

"I've not," she began in a shaky voice. "I mean... I've never..."

"That's okay," Peter said, stepping so close and leaning just right so that his breath mingled deliciously with her own. "It's a natural thing. May I?"

She could feel her mind growing mysteriously foggy as she nodded and his lips slowly descended on hers.

It did feel divine, Aindora decided, noticing how soft his lips were, how perfectly they fit against her own, and how it did taste sort of wonderful in a strange way. She couldn't have explained it any more than she could have explained why she liked the taste of fish, but this was better than fish...

And then she felt something a bit... different.

She looked to the side and saw that Peter's wand was pointing at their lips. Non-verbal spell, but what spell?

And then Aindora tried to pull away from the kiss, and she couldn't.

Sticking Charm.

She wanted to kill him. She wanted to rip all of his hair out. She fumbled for her wand, trying to do the counter-charm non-verbally, which she'd never had to even try before. Over and over, she tried, and she was beginning to panic. She could see from Peter's eyes that he was nervous, sheepish, and probably a bit panicked.

Aindora sort of blacked out from fury, so to speak. She wasn't entirely sure how they'd made it to the hospital wing, only that the nurse, Professor Flitwick, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Merrythought were all gathered around them, attempting to determine what happened, how to fix it, and what they were going to do for punishment when it finally was fixed.

"I must say," the nurse mused, "I've never had this particular issue, and certainly not with a prefect! How you pick these leaders, Professor, I never know!"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

Three hours later, they were still attached and Aindora wasn't only panicked, she was starting to get hungry.

Peter Cromwell would absolutely suffer for this.

Another hour later and Professor Dumbledore finally managed to get them apart. Aindora's lips felt a bit numb, but he motioned for the pair of them to have a seat and they did so.

"Now," he said with a barely-concealed smile, "Miss Rovigatti, if you would be so kind as to explain your side of the story."

Aindora took a deep breath and explained how he'd asked to kiss her and then she realized he'd charmed their lips together and how furious she was. When she finished, she was panting with anger and frustration. All she wanted to do was hex Peter Cromwell into oblivion.

Professor Dumbledore still looked a bit amused as he turned to Peter and said, "Is this true?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Peter said sheepishly. "I just... I sort of went mad because I didn't want to have to part from her, but I didn't expect it to turn so horribly wrong. I guess I underestimated my charms abilities."

"That you most certainly did," squeaked Professor Flitwick, who seemed equally uncertain whether to be disapproving or admiring.

"Well, I think we ought to consider punishment," Professor Dumbledore said softly, his blue eyes still sparkling with amusement. How could he be amused at a time like this, Aindora wondered, horrified. Perhaps the naysayers were right. Perhaps Dumbledore really was crazy.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and said, "If I may?"

The other professors all nodded in deference to his decision, including Professor Dumbledore, even though Peter wasn't in his House. It certainly wasn't customary, but then, perhaps the whole situation defied custom in some way. Peter was good at setting new standards.

"For improper use of magic outside of the classroom," Professor Flitwick said firmly, "twenty points from Gryffindor. For an incredibly powerful and well-done sticking charm," he added with a grin, "ten points to Gryffindor!"

Aindora could have groaned if she hadn't been so conscious of the audience. Only ten points off? And they gave him points for wasting hours of her day by being too good at charms for his own good? She adored Professor Flitwick, mostly, but the fact that Peter didn't even get a detention made her want to take the little man and shaking him vigorously.

Instead, she smiled her sweetest smile so that Peter knew exactly how much trouble to expect from her later and said, "Thank you very much, Professors. I'm sorry this silliness caused so much trouble for you all."

"Not at all, my dear," Professor Dumbledore said with a knowing smile.

So he knew she was still furious. That man didn't miss a thing.

She was dismissed with that and she practically skipped out of the hospital wing, both happy to be out and thrilled to get a chance to fill in Aludra and begin plotting her revenge.


	3. Changing Perspective

"I'm sorry, he did _what_?" Aludra hissed, shocked.

"He charmed our lips together," Aindora murmured, feeling heat pooling in her cheeks. "I know; it's terrible."

"Yes," Aludra sighed, rolling her eyes, "but the most terrible part of all is that you actually let him put your lips to his in the first place!"

"Would you be saying that if Alphard had done it instead?" Aindora countered, satisfied when her best friend blushed and began silently picking at a dent in the library table. "What is your thing with Alphard, anyway?"

"He'd be a good match, that's all," Aludra said with a shrug. "You _are_ going to have to marry someday. And he's your age."

Aindora began picking at her knee, which was visible when she sat, her robes going off to the side. She hardly ever left them closed, covering herself. Professor Merrythought had taken more points from Ravenclaw over Aindora's attire than almost anything else, but nobody had the gall to complain to her about it. Technically, after all, she was following the dress code, just not following Professor Merrythought had decided constituted 'common decency'.

"Peter's not so much older than us," she said. "Two years isn't a lot."

"Maybe not when you go to get married someday," Aludra shrugged. "But for right now, two years is ages. I mean, what kind of thirteen-year-old boy his on an eleven-year-old?"

"He wasn't hitting on me exactly," Aindora argued, blushing, "and I'm not eleven anymore. I'm thirteen."

"And he's fifteen," Aludra said dryly. "What's wrong with him that he can't get girls his own age?"

"Thought I heard your beautiful voices," said the voice of Alphard Black, although he wasn't his usual smug self. In fact, he looked rather rumpled and ruffled as he slid onto the bench beside Aindora. "What's up, Baby Bird?"

"Go away," she groaned, wanting to bash her head on the table but knowing she'd get kicked out of the library if someone caught her.

Alphard didn't go away, though. He leaned forward a bit, frowning.

"I heard Peter Cromwell made a pass at you," he said softly. "The word on the street is he practically raped you on the Quidditch pitch this morning."

"Then you know that's not even close to what happened," Aindora said quietly, silently cursing the disgustingly exaggerative rumor mill at Hogwarts. "He charmed our lips together."

"What was that swine doing with his lips on you in the first place?" Alphard hissed, and Aindora was blinking at him, thinking how it was almost what Aludra had said to her just moments prior.

"He asked if he could kiss me," Aindora said, feeling her cheeks filling with crimson once more.

"And you said he could?" Alphard asked incredulously.

She shrugged and muttered, "I'd never been kissed before. I wanted to know what it felt like."

Saying that reminded her with an excited rush of how good it had felt and her stomach was twisting in knots.

"You could have asked at any time," Alphard said, not even half joking. "I would most certainly have obliged!"

Aindora rolled her eyes, wishing Alphard would just leave her alone.

"Whatever, he got off with a slap on the wrist anyway," Aindora sighed, laying her head down on the table and turning it away from Alphard. "I need to think of a way to get him back for doing that to me."

She flinched when she felt Alphard's fingers in her silky black hair, but she didn't tell him not to touch her when she realized how good it felt, him brushing through her perfectly-sorted-out hair with his gentle fingers. Aindora knew that Aludra was raising her eyebrows at this, but she ignored it and focused on how nice Alphard's fingers felt. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I'll help."

"What?" she muttered, a bit annoyed that he was making her have to think while he was doing that.

"I'll help you get back at Cromwell," he hissed in her ear. "He deserves what's coming to him."

"Mmm," she murmured in agreement.

"Besides," he said softly, "it means I get to spend more time with you, and you know I want to do that."

Not really thinking about his words anymore she let out a moan that she hoped sounded more agreeable than contented, but all she wanted to do in that moment was to fall into his arms and let him stroke her hair and scalp until she was putty in his hands.

She practically already was.

Was it some sort of spell, or was Alphard Black as fabulous at getting what he wanted as everyone always said?

Since his wand was still in his pocket, Aindora was going to hazard a guess that he was just that good. And Aludra wasn't freaking out, so it couldn't be a spell... right?

"Well, if you're going to help, maybe you could stop petting Dora and actually help," Aludra said impatiently.

"Right," Alphard said with an obvious smirk in his voice. "You rest your pretty head, Baby Bird," Alphard whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead tenderly. "Aludra and I are going to get your revenge."

Aindora couldn't bother to lift her head, so she waved her approval and Alphard and Aludra took off to Merlin knows where to plot the revenge they were planning to take against Peter Cromwell for... well, not exactly _forcing_ himself upon her, but effectively...

She felt a twinge of guilt. She had, after all, said he could kiss her, and that seemed to be the part Aludra and Alphard were buzzing about, anyway. That wasn't exactly his fault, so was it fair for them to be up in arms about it? Unless they were just outraged that he'd even asked. That was possible.

Aindora sighed, burying her head in his hands and thinking that Peter Cromwell, wherever he was, had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Aludra and Alphard were probably preparing him for the shock and embarrassment of his life.

In the coming weeks, Aindora couldn't avoid the stares, whispers, and rumors. She knew that Peter hadn't gone out of his way to spread the story, self-obsessed though he could be, but things like that just seemed to find their way around Hogwarts without too much help, spreading naturally like butter on a hot roll. She handled the change in the student body with the most grace she could muster, and Eoladra even commented on it one day as they were taking a walk around the lake.

"Why do you just ignore it?" she asked. "You aren't even trying to set the record straight or anything! You wouldn't believe some of the things that the first years are saying..."

Aindora snorted thinking about the trivial things first years came up with compared with the utterly disgusting things the older students imagined. She was sure _she_ wasn't even old enough to handle what the seventh years passed around amongst themselves, much less Eoladra.

"I think I wouldn't be too terribly surprised," Aindora said indulgently. "You forget, dear, I was a first year once as well.

As Aindora had expected, boys were absolutely stalking Eoladra, who seemed to think it all very exciting and flattering. She must not have had a clue that she was being pursued for her status and the possibility of money if something happened to Aindora. The Rovagotti fortune, of course, went to Aindora as the oldest child.

The most troubling of these boys taking an interest in the younger sister, however, were the Slytherins. Slytherins were always troubling, even good-natured ones like Alphard, because even if they themselves weren't too particularly awful, their relatives were bound to be atrocious at the very least. Aindora couldn't even fathom the idea of marrying Alphard just for the simple fact of having Walburga Black as a sister-in-law.

The one Aindora was keeping a particularly close eye on was a Slytherin second year named Tom Riddle. He was a top student according to Alphard, one of the most talented wizards to come through Slytherin in a very long time. Slughorn fawned over him at the Slug Club, the teachers thought he was a delightful student, but even Alphard didn't know much about the boy's background.

Aindora knew that 'Riddle' wasn't a wizarding name. He was half-blood at most, which meant that he was more than likely not looking at Eoladra because she was pretty, charming, and smart, which she was. Aindora wanted to tell her sister to watch out for Riddle, but what was she supposed to say? He was charming, good-looking, well-mannered, intelligent... Mothers dreamed of finding such wonderful matches for their daughters.

But Aindora and Eoladra didn't have a mother to make their matches anymore, so Aindora had to figure out how to do it properly for herself and her sister, if Eoladra would listen to her when that day came. After all, they weren't so far apart in age. She was as much older than Eoladra as Peter was older than Aindora.

It took about a week and a half for Aludra and Alphard to put their plan in action. Due to Aindora's insistence, Alphard agreed not to attempt to take any credit and deny all involvement in the scheme, which the girls would both attest to should there be any disbelief. The last thing Aindora needed was for people to start talking about her and Alphard.

Aindora went to breakfast, same as she did any other day, and she sat down at the Ravenclaw table as she always did. The only difference was that she knew it was time. She knew it was the day because Aludra had warned her the night before, so when she looked over to the other side of the Great Hall to where Peter Cromwell had sat with some of his Quidditch mates, she watched with a guilty sort of eagerness. Aludra had followed him into the Great Hall, pausing as though she were looking for Aindora before heading over to her table, but Aindora knew she was pausing to aim and murmur her spell where nobody could hear her.

The first clue that it worked happened as soon as he sat down. The look of confusion and discomfort was obvious, even from across the room. His friends seemed concerned, probably asking what was up, but he waved them off, lying and saying it was nothing.

"There we have it," Aludra said with a smirk. "We'll have to see if Alphard's research is as foolproof as he claims."

As the girls poured their pumpkin juice, they watched the awkwardness ensuing at the Gryffindor table.

"Orsolya said she's going to need help with Divination," Aindora said casually. "I don't know how to help someone with Divination. Any ideas?"

"Ah, no," Aludra said with a chuckle. "You're the expert on that class, Miss Sight."

Aindora sighed heavily. She hadn't asked to be a natural at Divination, but her father told her to be sure to take it when she got the chance, and Professor Pythia had made a point of telling her that she would need extra lessons after the first day of class. She was worried it was because she was going to struggle, but he said, "No, my dear. You have the Sight, and other gifts. Professor Dippet has already cleared you for special training, at the request of me and Professor Dumbledore."

Special training had included things like learning how to open her mind to smelling other people's emotions, to easily stepping into the minds of others with just a word, and to block her own mind from intrusion. That had been the most important part, her professor had told her, because although very few people had the ability even with years of hard work to look into the mind of someone else, they tended to be very powerful and thereby potentially dangerous.

Aindora didn't talk much about her so-called gifts with her friends, except for Aludra, because apparently she was virtually one-of-a-kind. Her mother had had her gift, as had many of her female ancestors before. It was usually just the firstborn, though, who carried on the gift, so even Eoladra didn't have it. At least, not that anyone was aware of yet.

"That's exactly the problem," Aindora groaned to her friend. "I don't know how I See, I just... See. I have no idea how to teach or help someone else, especially because she's got the most mundane mind..."

When she realized she'd said the last bit aloud, Aindora blushed, not looking at Aludra's disapproving eyes. She wasn't trying to be mean. She could barely help but skim over other people's minds, and she didn't mean mundane in a cruel way. It really was mundane. She had no gift for Seeing. But she knew Aludra expected her to either stop looking (which she couldn't), or be quiet about it. Aindora usually managed to keep her thoughts to herself on the matter, but occasionally something about someone's mind would slip out and she'd get more disapproving looks from her best friend.

Peter Cromwell got up at that point, rushing out of the Great Hall, leaving his friends looking worried and confused.

"I wish I could follow him to the loo," Aludra sighed.

This, of course, was not because Aludra had any desire to find Peter Cromwell with his trousers down, but because she wanted to see his face when he saw the boils on his arse that were spreading across the rest of him the longer he sat on any surface. Aindora grinned.

"I suppose it worked, then," she giggled. "Do you think he'll go to the infirmary?"

"Probably," Aludra said with an uncaring shrug, "but she won't be able to help him. Nothing can counter it. It'll go away in three days, though. Or at least, that's when they'll start fading, especially if they've ruptured."

Aindora rolled her eyes, but she managed to enjoy the rest of her week regardless.

Aludra had made a few comments while Peter Cromwell's growing number of boils plagued him so that he knew that it was her that did it, but he couldn't prove it. Aindora suspected that Professor Dumbledore knew, but if he did, he didn't say a word, and Alphard began spending more and more time with Aindora and Aludra, and the girls found themselves not particularly bothered that he did so.

About two weeks after Peter Cromwell's boils finally went away, Aindora found herself sitting in the library beside Alphard, reading the text on Occlumency for her extra Divination lessons and Alphard had been 'reading' the same page of his Transfiguration text for about an hour. Finally, he closed it with a thud, turned to her and said, "Baby Bird, I need to ask you something."

Aindora looked up over the top of her book and blinked at him. She couldn't recall ever seeing him so determined about something.

"Yes?" she said softly, reminding him that they were in the library.

"There's one more Hogsmeade trip before the Christmas holidays," he said firmly. "I want you to go with me. I mean, I understand if you've got plans with your friends, but I'd... I'd really like it if you'd go with me."

She blinked at him, not entirely sure he was serious. Technically, she didn't have any plans, although it was more or less expected that she and her friends all go together. Hogsmeade dates were more of an older-student thing. Fifth years and sixth years and seventh years, getting ready more or less for graduating and finding a spouse.

"Um, sure, I guess," she sighed. "What exactly do you propose we do?"

Alphard grinned and said, "I want to surprise you, if that's all right."

"Uh, yes, I suppose it is," she said, noticing that he'd moved his hand so that it was brushed up against hers, and she wondered what he was doing until he curled his pinky around hers.

It wasn't quite holding her hand, but she figured it was probably as close as he could get away with at that moment. And Aindora found she didn't exactly mind, so she didn't move her hand.

They sat like that the rest of the time they studied, their pinkies intertwined as the spent more time stealing glances at each other than reading their books. When it was time for the library to close, Aindora hurried away to Ravenclaw Tower, the opposite direction from Alphard, who she noted watched her rush away up the corridor before he headed his own way down to the dungeons. When she got up to her dormitory, she collapsed onto her bed, dropping her books everywhere and looking at Aludra, who was frowning at her, curious.

"What's gotten into you?" she demanded.

"Uh, I've got a date, apparently," Aindora said nervously. "Um, you know, for Hogsmeade."

"I figured that part out," Aludra said, raising her eyebrows. "Who with?"

"Um, Alphard," Aindora said, turning away to find her hair pin so that Aludra didn't see her blush, but her friend's squeal sort of made the move a bit obsolete. Aindora dropped her face into her hands and laughed.

"I don't even know what to say!" Aludra cried. "I don't know, I never thought this would happen, but think about it! You could be Aindora Black, you could be the richest witch in the world!"

"Aludra," Aindora sighed, "I'm already the richest witch in the world, when my dad dies.

The feisty Aludra grinned, shrugging as though it didn't matter, and since she had plenty of money of her own, Aindora supposed it didn't actually matter.

"So I suppose the big question," Aludra said with a dramatic sigh, "is what are you going to wear?"

Aindora squealed, feeling horrible that it hadn't crossed her mind.

"Merlin, you're right!" she gasped. "What _am_ I going to wear?"

"Don't worry, Dora, we'll find something," Aludra assured her, laughing as the two girls spent the rest of the evening going through their trunks for something special for Aindora's first date.


End file.
